5 things to know about the Falcons on Draft Day

FLOWERY BRANCH – The NFL draft is finally here!

If things start on time at 8 p.m., the Falcons will make the 17th overall pick around 10:50 p.m. tonight.

Here are five things you need to know about the Falcons on draft day:

1. Staying at 17: The Falcons plan to stay at 17 and select defense. All they could probably receive for moving back in the first round is a mid- to late-third rounder or more likely a fourth round pick. That's not enough in the team's view. If someone steps up and throws a second-rounder at them, they'll have to consider it.

2. The picks. The Falcons have picks in the first-round (17th), second (50th), third (81st), fourth (115th) and seventh (238th). They lost their fifth-round pick in the noise gate scandal and traded the sixth-round pick to Tennessee in the Andy Levitre trade. The Falcons and the Rams have the fewest picks (five) in the draft.

3. Best player available. The Falcons' projected draft needs: linebacker or defensive end, safety, guard and tight end in the first four rounds. While filling needs they are talking more about selecting the best player available -- BPA -- on the board.

4. Players Falcons have scouted. Here's a list of players that have been linked to the Falcons through the pre-draft process:

Brandon Allen, QB, Arkansas
Jack Allen, C, Michigan State
Stephen Anderson, WR, California
Danny Anthrop, WR, Purdue
Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State
Sterling Bailey, DE/3-4DE, Georgia
Alex Balducci, DT, Oregon
Karnorris Benson, WR, Western Carolina
Moritz Wilhelm Boehringer, WR, Germany
Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU
Jake Brendel, C, UCLA
Kevin Byard, S, Middle Tennessee
De'Vondre Campbell, OLB, Minnesota
Jack Conklin, OT, Michigan State
Fahn Cooper, OT, Ole Miss
Su'a Cravens, OLB, USC
Joe Dahl, G/OT, Washington State
Clay DeBord, OT, Eastern Washington
KJ Dillon, SS, West Virginia
Kenyan Drake, RB, Alabama
Leonard Floyd, OLB/3-4OLB, Georgia
Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame
Darion Griswold, TE, Arkansas State
Javon Hargrave, DT, South Carolina State
Joel Heath, DT, Michigan State
Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford
Tyrone Holmes, DE, Montana
Austin Hooper, TE, Stanford
Germain Ifedi, OT, Texas A&M
Matt Ioannidis, DT, Temple
Myles Jack, OLB, UCLA
Jordan Jenkins, OLB/3-4OLB, Georgia
Deion Jones, OLB, LSU
Bronson Kaufusi, DE/3-4DE, Brigham Young
Shaq Lawson, DE/3-4OLB, Clemson
Darron Lee, OLB, Ohio State
Antonio Longino, ILB, Arizona State
Lene Maiava, OT/G, Arizona
Blake Martinez, ILB, Stanford
Braxton Miller, WR, Ohio State
Keanu Neal, S, Florida
Sherrod Neasman, S, Florida Atlantic
Dadi Lhomme Nicolas, OLB, Virginia Tech
Victor Ochi, OLB, Stony Brook
Emmanuel Ogbah, DE/3-4DE, Oklahoma State
Joshua Perry, OLB, Ohio State
Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama
Luke Rhodes, ILB, William & Mary
Mike Rose, DE, NC State
Jake Rudock, QB, Michigan
Steven Scheu, TE, Vanderbilt
Hunter Sharp, WR, Utah State
Justin Simmons, FS, Boston College
Terrance Smith, OLB/ILB, Florida State
Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana
Lawrence Thomas, DT, Michigan State
Joe Thuney, G, NC State
Destiny Vaeao, DT, Washington State
Nick Vannett, TE, Ohio State
Nick Vigil, ILB, Utah State
DeAndre Washington, RB, Texas Tech
Josh Woodrum, QB, Liberty

5. Falcons five. Here are the five players on the Falcons' radar screen for their 17th overall pick.

[cmg_cinesport url="http://cinesport.ajc.com/embed/ajc-atlanta-sports/d-led-new-name-17-falcons/"]

Before the NFL Draft beings, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter and CineSport’s Noah Coslov discuss the latest whispers at No. 17, the player to watch on Day 2 and the most intriguing late-round prospect.

NFL DRAFT 2016 – POSITION BY POSITION SERIES

Sunday, April 17 -- QUARTERBACKS

Rams quest for franchise quarterback behind big trade --Wentz or Goff?

D. Led’s breakdown of the Quarterbacks

A look at the top 10 Quarterbacks in the draft

Monday -- RUNNING BACKS

D Led’s breakdown of the Running backs -- Is Derrick Henry the next Charles Muncie?

A look at the top 10 Running backs

Tuesday - WIDE RECEIVERS

D. Led’s breakdown of the Wide receivers

A look at the top 10 Wide receivers

Wednesday -- TIGHT ENDS